Friday, April 4, 2008

Migraine Euphoria - love it or hate it?

Let me explain for those who don't have the pleasure of experiencing this. I think that I only know one Migraineur besides myself that gets this and that is my friend Heather, (please visit her blog The Journey of a Migraineur )




Ok so Migraine euphoria aka waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's when a couple days before a horrible migraine, I get extremely happy, euphoric, crazy, etc. I feel like jumping out of my skin, act like a freak, talk a mile a minute (ok, well that's normal), clean, clean, clean - jump around, dance and feel like my skin is buzzing.



This is both a blessing and a curse.



It reminds me of the days of "what the hell is a migraine??" Back before my life was turned inside out by this disease that I now feel I have to watch everything I do for the potential ramifications. I feel carefree and happy.



The down side is - this usually means a big mother is on the horizon. I very rarely get this way, but when I do - a big one is lurking around the corner.



So what do I do? Enjoy it? Take it for what it is? Analyze every second of it, waiting for it to stop and the pain to begin?



I used to almost force myself into a depression over it, knowing this is not a good sign. Now, this time around, I've had this feeling for 3 days. Maybe it's just that I am in a good place, I've been migraine free for I think 17 days now - (woohoo!!!). Maybe it's just that I'm finally feeling good.....am I waiting for something that won't come?



My usual prodrome protocol is nausea or heartburn, increased visual floaters, tinnitus, smells, sometimes hearing things. I have had none of this, well a little tinnitus, but that is about it. So am I over reacting? I don't know.



I've decided to just ride it out and enjoy feeling good.



At the first sight of pain though - I am popping a Frova as fast as I can get it out of it's stupid packaging!



Till then - Take care of yourself and be kind to each other.

8 comments:

Debbie said...

I have never heard of migraine euphoria until today. This is really odd because I have been having the best day in the last millennium. Not really, but yesterday and today have been just great. No tension; sun shining, etc. No manic cleaning tho'; I could use that.
I have been planting seeds and made a full blown turkey dinner last night. I hope this is not an omen of something bad. I am kinda enjoying this.

Debbie (aka www.a-migraineur.blogspot.com)

Anonymous said...

I say, make hay while the sunshines! Enjoy whatever you can when you can. If I could just take it one day at a time, at least I'd be happy when I'm happy. Reminds me of when my daughter was a baby - she had colic and screamed from 4 pm to midnight every day. The rest of the time she was a happy baby. Me, I was miserable 24/7 (that's called post-partum depression - whole other story...). But I thought, I just need to be like her, when I feel the pain, okay, I'll deal with it the best I can, when I don't, enjoy!
- Megs

Anonymous said...

Hey! I also experience euphoria connected with my migraines, but for me it occurs during the post-drome phase (after the migraine) and although I still feel sore on my head during the euphoria, I don't let it disturb the good feeling.

Anonymous said...

I also feel euphoric after a migraine, usually I fall asleep after the vomiting stage and when I wake up I feel so refreshed and happy! I always thought it was my bodies response to the relief of the pain being gone.

peterman said...

I've been suffering from 24/7 migraines for about a year now. Never am I fine. Usually between serious pain, exhaustion, depression and the now often euphoria. I just recently spoke with a friend regarding euphoria and migraines. Just finding your blog here, makes me feel a bit better that I'm not alone. My story is much more complicated than just migraines, but it is my current life. I'll be back with more to say, but right now my mind needs to equalize what's going on.

Eileen said...

Peterman,

I am very sorry to hear you are suffering. This is certainly one club I wish no one was a member to. If you are looking for some places for reference, some places that actually know their stuff and not just spewing b.s. to serve the masses, may I suggest checking out http://www.mymigraineconnection.com - it is run by advocate and fellow Migraineur Teri Robert. She wrote the book Living Well with Migraine Disease and Headaches, which is my Migraine bible. I've read many books on the topic by both doctors and sufferers and I still find hers to be the best, hands down. The site is great, they also have a fantastic link to help find specialists in your area if you need help with that.

I hope today finds you well - or at least a bit better. <3

Silent Migraine Blues said...

Hi Everyone,

I also get euphoric before being hit by a migraine. I suffer from a silent migraine, so I do not get a pain, but I get all other symptoms - numbness on one side of the body, aura, nausea, photophobia, sensitivity to all sorts of things... If I forget for a second that euphoria is a migraine's forerunner I can really enjoy it. Otherwise, I run instantly to get some pain killers (they work as abortives in my case).

Have a non-migraenous day,
Simone
http://silentmigraineblues.blogspot.ca/

Anonymous said...

I'm a 17 year old boy and when I have migraines a random part of my body will become numb like my arm, leg, mouth, throat...etc but the reason I stumbled upon this passage was because I was trying to see if anyone has the same effect as me from the time they have their episode until the next 1 or 2 days, and that effect is being real mushy or lovey. From the time I have the migraine until the next 1 or 2 days I will love everyone, enjoy romantic movies and I have before cried from simple confrontation, I'm sure you can understand that this is very weird for a 17 year old senior-_- these traits I have are a gift/curse because I can tell about 10 minutes before I have an episode to get off the road or head home due to the numbness I will feel and also my girlfriend and mom enjoy babying me and hearing all the nice things I have to say about them from being so mushy and loveydubbey! Just wanted to see if I was the only one who had this, most people who have migraines are women so I'm sure you would associate the love feeling just to feeling good because you may naturally love more than a 17 year old male teenager would haha